Matt Lieberman, son of former Sen. Joe Lieberman, is running for Georgia Senate as a Democratic candidate – and the party wants him to get lost.
“I would encourage Matt to search his conscience,” Stacey Abrams, one of George’s most prominent Democratic leaders, said during a press conference on Thursday. “We need Matt Lieberman to understand that he is not called to this moment.”
Lieberman’s campaign threatens to siphon votes from the top Democratic candidate in the race, Rev. Raphael Warnock, a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach.
Warnock is the heavy favorite in his party, having racked up endorsements from former President Barack Obama, former Attorney General Eric Holder and Abrams. And with the race being a free-for-all jungle primary special election in which incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) are locked in a heated intra-party throw-down, Warnock winning could help Democrats in their quest to take back the Senate.
Now Lieberman’s getting hit with calls to drop out, including in virtually every comment section on his own Facebook page. But he’s refused to listen and has chosen instead to post ill-advised screeds on social media accusing his Black opponents, including Warnock himself, of playing the race card.
“I regret @reverendwarnock is again using race to divide Georgians ahead of this important election by attacking an anti-racism book I wrote to help us face the legacy of racism in the South,” Lieberman tweeted on Thursday. “Suppressing democracy, using race to divide?”
He posted a similar Facebook tirade against Abrams on Friday in which he seemingly copied and pasted the text of his tweet and switched out Warnock’s name for Abrams’.
Then Lieberman mocked Obama’s endorsement of Warnock.
“@ReverendWarnock congrats on endorsement from 44 who has endorsed every DC-approved senate candidate,” he tweeted.
Believe it or not, Lieberman’s attacks aren’t playing so well:
Matt Lieberman's closing message in a Georgia Senate primary is to talk shit about Obama. https://t.co/OsgiTcCpz8
— Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) September 25, 2020
Again, candidates who know they're losing do stupid irrational shit like this. If Matt Lieberman still has a campaign manager that person should probably try and take the candidate's phone away. https://t.co/Tj7ixUZOvg
— Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) September 25, 2020
"It’s clear that Matt Lieberman should drop out of the race, unless he wants to be responsible for costing Democrats a victory in Georgia.” — @rahnamepting https://t.co/BxreZ8N0NN
— MoveOn (@MoveOn) September 25, 2020
If you want something to rage read today – here you go.
It's becoming very clear that Matt Lieberman is in this race to help the GOP. There is no other explanation for the behavior below. https://t.co/9lkKsdEaXK
— Tim Fullerton (@TimFullerton) September 25, 2020
Hey. HEY. @LiebermanForGa. You there?…
Drop out. https://t.co/efO2ayZDQm https://t.co/3Rw16U4JeP
— Working Families Party ? (@WorkingFamilies) September 25, 2020
matt lieberman vs the Georgia democratic party pic.twitter.com/vJ9yK1Cdq8
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) September 25, 2020
